Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3107 by Ashby (Relating to the production of public information under the public information law. ), As Passed 2nd House
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Government Code provisions related to when open records requests may be considered withdrawn or combined, time limits for responding to requests, sets forth that requests do not have to be completed until a previous request by the same requestor which had an unpaid statement is either paid for or withdrawn, and which entities may receive open records without payment. According to the Secretary of State, Department of Insurance, Health and Human Services Commission, and Department of Criminal Justice, no significant fiscal impact is anticipated as a result of these provisions.
The bill would also modify and expand the circumstances in which an individual may file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) after initially filing a complaint with a district or county attorney. According to OAG staff, any legal work resulting from the passage of the bill could be absorbed within current resources.
Local Government Impact
According to the Texas Association of Counties, the bill would have a positive fiscal impact on counties; however, due to the unknown number of future open records requests, or how many requests would be unpaid at the time additional requests received from the same person, the cost cannot be determined at this time.
Source Agencies:
302 Office of the Attorney General, 307 Secretary of State, 452 Department of Licensing and Regulation, 454 Department of Insurance, 507 Texas Board of Nursing, 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 720 The University of Texas System Administration